Product Description

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Since Stonehenge, the ancient and mystery-shrouded Druids have been ghostly hunters, infiltrating the highest power circles of each new conqueror of Britain. Merlin himself was a Druid, until rebelling against them. He established his own line of descendents, bequeathing them the power and knowledge to hunt the Druids.

It is a dark time in medieval Europe. A young man, Thomas, journeys to an isolated castle, unaware of his ancestry, roots that stretch back to the Byzantine Empire. Thomas doesn't realize that he carries the secrets needed to re-conquer the castle for the Merlins. At stake is the direction of mankind's future because the Druids have the ability to end al progress in science, medicine and technologies, thus ensuring the Dark Ages continue for centuries more.

Publisher's Description

My greatest fear was that they would find us and make of us a sacrifice beneath a full moon. Now you, Thomas, must help us destroy the circle of evil.

The last words of a dying woman would change the life of young Thomas. Raised behind monastery walls, he knows nothing of his mysterious past or imminent destiny. But now, in the heart of medieval England, a darkness threatens to strangle truth. An ancient order tightens their ghostly grip on power, creating fear and exiling those who would oppose them. Thomas is determined fulfill his calling and bring light into the mysterious world of the Druids and leaves the monastery on an important quest.

Thomas quickly finds himself in unfamiliar territory, as he must put his faith in unusual companionsa cryptic knight, a child thief, and the beautiful, silent woman whom may not be all she seems. From the solitary life of an orphan, Thomas now finds himself tangled in the roots of both comradery and suspicion.

Can he trust those who would join his battle&hellip;or will his fears force him to go on alone?

Author Bio

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With three million books in print, SIGMUND BROUWER is the best-selling author of dozens of popular books for children and adults. An acclaimed storyteller and passionate reader, Brouwer brings his characters to life with the desire to give voice to truth. Over the last two decades, his Rock and Roll Literacy presentation has inspired students and teachers at schools all across North America. Sigmund is married to songwriter recording artist Cindy Morgan. The couple and their two young daughters divide their time between Red Deer, Alberta and Nashville, Tennessee.

Publishers Weekly

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In the year 1312, the 18-year-old orphan Thomas finds the courage to leave the abbey where he has been kept in servitude since the death of his mother. Next he saves from hanging a former Templar knight, a girl who appears to be deaf and mute, and a young pickpocket named Tiny John. They join forces to make an unlikely group journeying toward the kingdom of Magnus, which had once belonged to Thomas' family. Following a slow start with broadly villainous monks, the action gallops along, made subtle and propelled by disguises, duplicity, and secrets aplenty. Faith elements are likewise subtle and well-knit in the story. Thomas makes a clever youthful hero, learning as he goes. Those reeled in by this start to the Merlin's Immortals series by Brouwer (The Last Disciple) will find it hard to wait for the follow-up. Ages 12-up. (July 10) 2012 Reed Business Information

It is 1312 AD and all Thomas knows about his past history is that he was raised for the first ten years of his life by a woman named Sarah. When a fever took her too soon from him, he was placed in a tiny monastery and cared for by four greedy monks. Not one to question his lot in life, he clings to the stories of the Immortals his nursemaid passed down to him and practices all the things she taught him. The library she has knowledge of and shares with him, and all the wonderful powers he can have with the simple study of herbs and powders. Chafing under the injustice of the monks who were supposed to be his guardians, he holds back all his studying and tends to the endless task of the garden for their gluttonous bellies.

On the night of his planned escape, things go wrong. Forced to reveal his knowledge of their wrong deeds, he barely escapes the monastery with all he needs to make is journey. His destination is the castle of Magnus; a formidable, unconquerable and legendary place of evil. To become king of such a fortress it must be taken from another; but Thomas has a clever plan to make it his. Among his companions there is the knight he recused from the gallows, a beautiful, silent girl and a young pickpocket sentenced to hang for his crimes. Sure of his destiny, he is completely unprepared for the challenges he is about to face. Will the mysterious knight be able to make Thomas the great king he is supposed to be? Or is destiny ever truly enough?

While I enjoy watching films from the medieval time period, I cannot say I've ever enjoyed reading about this time period. So coming into this novel, I was hoping to be at least mildly entertained at best. But I discovered instead an author who does more than entertain and amuse; he actually takes you to the time and place of the story. I am now staunch supporter of the mystical/fantasy/medieval genre, and I highly recommend this book for anyone.

Plot: This was an interesting plot with a lot of mystery and intrigue. The plot is revealed as you read and you are kept in wonder as the story unfolds. But by the end of the book, the plot has been revealed and executed. You are left, however, with questions that are sure to be answered in the rest of the series.

Characters: The character development in this book is very interesting. You start off with no knowledge of any of the characters, but as the story goes on, you learn about the intentions and even some background on some of them. However, you learn still, as you read on that things you thought you learned as truth about some characters, turns out to be falsehood. In some stories, this method of character development would have been confusing, but for this story, it works and it works well.

Themes: I would say that an important theme in this book is finding God. Thomas, who grows up in a monastery, doesn't believe that a loving God could exist in such a cruel world. As his journey progresses, he is faced with people who challenge him to question his beliefs and allow him to look beyond what he thinks and see that the possibility of God is more real than he has believed.

Emotion: This book did lack emotion. There was intrigue and wonder, but there was no emotional connection to the characters or their predicaments.

Overall: This book was a very easy and a very fast read. I was kept engaged by the mystery and wanted to continue to read to see what would happen next. While it is geared toward younger readers, it was enough to satisfy and wasn't too childish.

It is 1312 AD and all Thomas knows about his past history is that he was raised for the first ten years of his life by a woman named Sarah. When a fever took her too soon from him, he was placed in a tiny monastery and cared for by four greedy monks. Not one to question his lot in life, he clings to the stories of the Immortals his nursemaid passed down to him and practices all the things she taught him. The library she has knowledge of and shares with him, and all the wonderful powers he can have with the simple study of herbs and powders. Chafing under the injustice of the monks who were supposed to be his guardians, he holds back all his studying and tends to the endless task of the garden for their gluttonous bellies.

On the night of his planned escape, things go wrong. Forced to reveal his knowledge of their wrong deeds, he barely escapes the monastery with all he needs to make is journey. His destination is the castle of Magnus; a formidable, unconquerable and legendary place of evil. To become king of such a fortress it must be taken from another; but Thomas has a clever plan to make it his. Among his companions there is the knight he recused from the gallows, a beautiful, silent girl and a young pickpocket sentenced to hang for his crimes. Sure of his destiny, he is completely unprepared for the challenges he is about to face. Will the mysterious knight be able to make Thomas the great king he is supposed to be? Or is destiny ever truly enough?

While I enjoy watching films from the medieval time period, I cannot say I've ever enjoyed reading about this time period. So coming into this novel, I was hoping to be at least mildly entertained at best. But I discovered instead an author who does more than entertain and amuse; he actually takes you to the time and place of the story. I am now staunch supporter of the mystical/fantasy/medieval genre, and I highly recommend this book for anyone.

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect and I wasn't sure I'd like this book. But I was pleasantly surprised and am looking forward to book two and finding out more about Thomas, the knight, Katherine and the mysterious cloaked man.

This was a fun read and intriguing. I'm still not entirely sure what's going on in the land and with Magnus but that's ok because it adds to the suspense and certainly makes me want to keep reading the series.

I read this as an ebook and at one point had to put it down and when I got back I discovered I only had a chapter left. There is so much more to this story! I do wish it had been a bit longer but I also understand that the author is prepared to write a series and is setting the stage and only gave us the first stage of Thomas' adventures.

Great book for adventure loving teens.

Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher through the Blogging for Books book review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

"The Orphan King" by Sigmund Brouwer is a young adult novel that starts the Merlin's Immortals series. In "The Orphan King" Thomas begins a journey to take over Magnus, a village of sorts in England during the 12th century. As he travels there with William the Knight; Isabelle, the girl; and Tiny John, the pickpocket; he is somehow involved with the centuries old battle of the Immortals vs the Druids. This whole part of the story is left cloaked in mystery and it is never clear what they are fighting over or who is on which side. Normally, this would annoy me to no end, but it is told in such a way that I am left wanting more. I am intrigued and am left thinking about the book trying to figure it out. The group fights bandits, dabbles in science (otherwise known as witchcraft), he escapes the abbey, and William teaches Thomas to be a man, a wise one, along the way. It is a short book, read in a day. I would say the age level would be 8th grade or higher. It might appeal more to boys, but not necessarily. I liked it.